


So Take Another Breath

by Blitz_Unite



Category: DC Animated Universe (Timmverse), DCU (Comics), Green Lantern - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015), Justice League: War
Genre: BAMF Arthur, BAMF Diana (Wonder Woman), Barry Allen Is a Good Bro, Brother Feels, Bruce Wayne Needs a Hug, Eventual Fluff, Gen, Hal Jordan - centric, Hal Jordan Needs A Hug, Mental Health Issues, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, POV Outsider, Slow To Update, everyone knows abt bruces parental skills but what abt his brotherly ones, honestly its probably OOC, i attempted to keep it realistic, this also has a lot of barry and clark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:21:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29823486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blitz_Unite/pseuds/Blitz_Unite
Summary: This is how it feels to take a fallIcarus is flying towards an early grave---How Hal's place in the Justice League was cemented and how the other superheroes actually started caring about him.
Relationships: Arthur Curry & Diana (Wonder Woman), Arthur Curry & Hal Jordan, Barry Allen & Bruce Wayne, Barry Allen & Clark Kent, Barry Allen & Hal Jordan, Clark Kent/Diana Prince (past), Clark Kent/Lois Lane, Diana (Wonder Woman) & Hal Jordan, Hal Jordan & Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan & Everyone
Comments: 7
Kudos: 23





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> *Based upon the DCAMU movies eg. Justice League: War, before the Death of Superman and all movies following that so nothing bad has really happened yet.

Barry grabbed Hal right after the battle. He didn’t even look at the band of super villains they’d been taking down, out of all seven of them, surely one would be handling that. What he had looked at was Hal being thrown into cement, and the building crumbling down on him. Barry had immediately rushed over, and when he actually pulled Hal out, the other man wasn’t in his Green Lantern costume. There were casual clothes, a t- shirt which had the air flight logo stitched over the heart and black pants. Seeing Hal, looking like a normal civilian so battered with bruises everywhere, it hit a part of Barry. Not even hit, stabbed. 

So he didn’t wait before checking in on the other man, knowing if he did, Hal would slip away and ignore his pain. Already, the man was trying to pull away but he never did have the most strength on the team. 

“We regroup at the headquarters for debriefing,” Batman announced, he was talking to all of them but his face pointed slightly in Barry’s direction. The latter understood, even with all their fights, the rich man too was worried. He nodded, keeping a hold on Hal, who was clenching the hand with his ring. “I suggest we all try to stay there for the night to limit inconvenience and talk in the morning with fresh heads as well. It will be the most effective way to consolidate our new knowledge.” Superman whooshed off with one of the criminals, Wonder Woman and Aquaman with the others. Cyborg and Batman in particular looked to be having a very invigorating conversation, both walking away from the fight. Those seven had become the primary team, the backbone. They all would stay till the next day, Barry was sure of it. 

“Come on, we gotta go,” Hal said, prying off Barry’s fingers with a wince. His feet shot up, wavering slightly above the ground. 

Before the other could protest, Barry snatched him, whispered a “hold tight, remember?” and zoomed. The speed was slightly slower, just in case, Hal already looked so wheezy, high speeds wouldn’t do him much good. Neither would flying himself over to the high building headquarters. They reached in a minute, far slower than usual. Barry stopped not at the round table, nor one of the hallways, but instead in the ‘break room’, the closest thing the tower had to a living room.

Hal stumbled back, hands clutching his side. “The hell was that?” he hissed. Barry shrugged. 

“You’re hurt,” 

“We’re all hurt! All the time!” it was a standard Hal reaction when coupled with the much quieter “thanks,” he uttered only seconds after his outburst.

“I know you’re bruising hard underneath that suit,” Barry pointed out, allowing a small smile at Hal’s immediate outbursts varying from ‘no, thanks for caring’ to ‘none of your business, dip shit!’. Some people called the other an enigma, but that wasn’t true, he wasn’t opposing, he just said every feeling that crossed his mind because not being transparent meant he didn’t respect/trust/like (it changed with every relationship) you. In fact, with villains, Hal was stone cold, he’d crack a few quips but his eyes would be cold and steely rather than the puppy brown. “You know I’m right, you can’t just leave tomorrow and go off into more fights. You’ll make it worse-” he gave a pointed look. “I _will_ tie you down if I have to,”

“Kinky,” Hal grinned, trying to move away from Barry’s gentle shove but freezing mid-way to grab his torso. 

“Lantern,” came a gruffer voice, snagging both of the younger heroes’ attention. Batman stood at the entrance, his face a blank mask like most days. His shoulders were back and he stood so stiff that Barry’s own muscles felt like they were going to hurt. Moving his head to Hal, he spoke again. “Medbay, everyone needs a checkup,”

“Um, why not Barry then?” shot Hal, hands protectively over his upper body.

“His healing is accelerated,” Batman explained monotonously, unphased. “You and I get first priority in our current team status in response to injury checking if another is not in a threatening situation,”

“Have you memorized some imaginary rulebook or is this just something you practice in front of the mirror,” grumbled younger, he slowly started to walk. Trying to make a show of having to go but Barry knew it was because it hurt him to move. To think that if not for the need of the Justice League, Hal would be out there, stumbling his way through the galaxy. It wasn’t his lack of sharpness in this state, he was as incompetent as Barry was slow. Just, Barry couldn’t stand the thought of Hal pushing himself, sludging through his pain, he gritted his teeth. He couldn’t imagine anyone doing it, just looking at Hal trying not to limp made his own leg feel numb. Shaking his head, he waved a little goodbye to the other before sitting down on one the nearest chair. Then he stood up again. If he was going to relax it would be in comfortable clothes. 

It took normal time for him to change, he tried to limit his speed use during the day so he wouldn’t feel the craving of doing it in his normal life. The more he used it, the harder it became to go. “Thinking of Captain Cold?” Superman’s voice broke through his stupor once he returned. He couldn’t very well say ‘no, just going through an emo phase’ so he resorted to nodding and a resigned smile. At least it fit the character. 

Superman- no, Clark adjusted the tie he was wearing over his shirt. Did he sleep in normal clothes? “Understandable,” he spoke before Barry could ask, sympathetically shaking his head. “Each time the league gets together, I wonder how long it is before that lowly criminal I thought could rebuild his life is planning to build some doomsday device,” Clark adjusted his glasses, looking the most introspective Barry had ever seen. The two weren’t particularly close, they got along well, it wasn’t like how Clark barely tolerated Hal and Shazam, they could be friends. They were friends. The line was slightly unclear. 

“Well, _if_ they do, you know the league has your back,” Barry smiled when Clark tilted his head at him. “There are so many possibilities out there for anything to happen, in fact, there’s probably some extremely small possibility that you could get a haircut tomorrow. Why stress about it now?”

A faint smirk lit up Clark’s face. “You’re almost sage there, you and Diana should start an advice giving club,”

“Diana and I? Shouldn’t we be talking about Diana and _you_ ,”

\--- 

“Shouldn’t Cyborg be checking both of us?” 

“He’s busy.”

“Oh yeah? With what?”

“He’s the one the government trusts the most after Superman,”

“So? Just admit it, this is you trying to get on my nerves,”

“ _So_ he is talking with the local officials and police department, because Superman is still getting over his… Girl drama.” Batman glared at Hal as the two made their way to the medbay. Most of his face was masked, but Hal could just feel the icy gaze. Still, he couldn’t keep in a snort at Batman’s faintest stumble over the words ‘girl drama’. Finally, they reached the medbay but Hal didn’t actually go in until Batman clasped a hand over his bicep and pulled. 

“Can I put on the suit again? I feel naked here,” Hal grumbled, leaning against one of the tables. Basic first aid kits and a few extra amenities such as pain medicine and a few StarLabs medical tech Barry had brought over. It was actually quite bare, it smelled more like a bedroom than a hospital, something Hal was glad for. “Actually though, please?”

Batman sighed. Then he removed his mask. It shouldn’t have surprised Hal, the other had done it on the first day they’d met too. But there was something about seeing those steely, blue eyes, pale skin and a small mark where the mask had pressed in too deep that just felt so weird. At least, he was quite sure it wasn’t on his part, he was never like this whenever someone else took off their suits. No, Bruce got this confusing shift in his posture without his mask, and Hal couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was and it wasn’t really his business to know anyway. “Give me your arm,” Bruce said, grabbing a first aid kit and opening it up in one smooth move. Hal reluctantly angled his body so that his arm was closer to the other, who-surprisingly gently- grabbed it to examine it. 

“Does it look cool in a sexy way or cool in a ‘bad boy in books but emotionally stunted in real life’ way?”

Bruce grimaced. 

“Oh no, that’s an ‘it looks cool but in a not-cool way’ look,”

“I’m not quite sure how that would work,” Bruce said finally, grabbing a bottle of cream and roll of bandages from the kit. “It’s not even mostly bruises, those are scratches and cuts all over you.”

“Does it look hot?” Hal tried for a smirk like he’d done before, but all he could conjure was a teasing tone coupled with a straight face. 

“It looks like you need proper rest to have reliable concentration.”

“I can still conjure everything I need, you know?”

“That would just instead take a mental toll, neither good for the long run,”

“You can’t say that and not listen yourself!”

The taller man paused, made no movement, but Hal understood the question. “I’ve seen you overworking yourself, you need to be more careful before this work becomes an obsession and you start spending more time as _Batman_ than _Bruce_ ,”

Silence persisted, but Bruce went back to swabbing antiseptic over Hal’s cuts. 

“Sorry,” said Hal. “I mean _Mr. Wayne_ ,”

“What’s wrong with being a hero more than a civilian,” Bruce said, softly, his head was angled downwards as he moved on to Hal’s next arm. His touch was still gentle, but it didn’t pull away whenever Hal hissed with pain. 

“Well firstly, you’re technically a vigilante,” Hal regretted as soon as it came out of his mouth, but he kept moving. “Plus, if you lose who you are then you lose the second identity too. The mask came from somewhere Spooky, and that’s you, if you don’t exist anymore, neither does Batman,” And maybe Hal was projecting, so what? He looks like he’d been chopped on a sushi board, he deserved to be let off the hook. Flinching after a particular sting, he cussed in his mind, this is what happened when he let Barry’s words get to him. The latter was amazing, a hero if Hal had ever seen one, but all this carrying Hal all the way back to the headquarters and taking off Green Lantern’s responsibilities for tomorrow always led only to one thing. A pity party. 

He exhaled, taking the kit from Bruce to try and lessen the pain on his face and torso while the other analysed himself for any injuries. “Maybe if this all was a perfect world, where we wouldn’t even need people to dress up in capes to protect the citizens, it would all be better.”

“It wouldn’t last,” Bruce remarked, his back to Hal as he checked his elbow. He turned around, grasping the mask he’d slipped off. Somehow, he’d managed to slink away with barely any injuries except a few bruises or maybe he was like Hal and had a torso that felt like it was on fire and made it hurt a bit to breathe. “Utopia never does,”

“Well, when that happens,” Hal’s brown eyes bore into Bruce’s. “We fight to build it all over again.”


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's sad and angsty.....  
> \-----  
> PS. Just saying, whether they say their superhero or real names matter ;)

Clark missed his home. He knew this work was important, and he definitely valued the quality of life for hundreds of people over himself but the best thing to do after fighting crime was simply to go and hug your loved ones. 

“This seems to be bigger than initially thought,” Batman said, his legs flexed as if he wanted to stand up. Green Lantern was slumped over the table, face angled to the former and the Flash leaned at the back of his chair next to him. Aquaman sat rigid, Cyborg had to be called away and Diana. Wonder Woman was as alert as ever, hands clasped in front of her as her body subconsciously leaned in to listen to Bruce. Her dark hair was tied in a low ponytail. Superman pulled his eyes away, best not to let others think that he wasn’t paying attention despite the fact that he had always been good at multitasking. “Here in Washington, there are several gangs trying to set up base but failing due to the heightened security. That’s creating a cesspool of criminals all vying for the few spots left in which they can illegally run their businesses.”

“Doesn’t sound like anything that needs a full team together,” Aquaman interjected, his ring laden fingers tapping an odd rhythm on the wooden arm of his chair. 

“There are groups from most of our districts all mixing together,” Batman continued. “We need each of our background knowledge on it, I’m fairly sure there’s a man obsessed with Atlantean culture, he has someone from your side smuggling in rarities on land from down there,” Arthur pursed his lips and nodded, crossing his arms and Clark knew immediately that the other was now far away from their meeting room. He wondered what it was like sometimes, to be in charge of an entire kingdom. To manage and balance the burden of keeping everyone happy and well fed on top of saving them as well when even one life lost was one too many. 

“Ah Earth, not really the biggest blip on my radar,” Green Lantern’s voice was muffled, his bowed spine and messy hair a barely moving clump of green.

“The Corps will do fine without you, they span an entire universe, your powers are needed here. You have the best defensive skills for a group setting and considering the chaos of this melting pot of criminals, it would be most beneficial.” 

Green Lantern did have the best defensive skills, but Clark doubted how much they would actually be used considering the former seemed to act a little too much on the offense considering his skill set. He’d seen the other run head on into danger, especially when a plan went wrong. While he himself was not averse to improvising, he had a back up in physiology unlike Hal. A grimace climbed its way up his body, his entire life he’d been trying not to differentiate himself and human- other people. But sometimes, safety overpowered that. Finally, the Lantern’s head barely moved, but it was a nod nonetheless. 

“We will start recon early night, if you can get back here by six then your welcome to go to whichever city you want to,” 

And that was that. 

Aquaman left first, murmuring about contacting an advisor. The Flash and Green Lantern left discussing something, but Clark was fairly sure the former would soon run back to Central City. He himself was contemplating whether he should quickly fly back, his usual go to after missions was to find Lois, her fiery spirit somehow managed to simultaneously calm the raging sadness inside him and bring some energy into the numbing effect of battling those emotions. She may not be a superhero, but she was truly remarkable.

“Clark?” a strong voice asked. 

He blinked, he and Diana were alone in the meeting room. She was by the door, just about to exit, but concern and curiosity reflected in her large eyes. “Ah, I was just thinking,” he replied, swinging his body up. 

“I do hope you know, just because we are not romantically involved does not mean we are not friends,” 

He smiled, genuinely. “I’m sure glad to hear that,”

\---

“Don’t you have to visit Iris?” Hal raised an eyebrow. His fingers kept sliding up to tug his familiar brown jacket closer to him and kept grasping at nothing, it wasn’t that sweatshirts were uncomfortable, it was more that… The proper words would be a ‘safety blanket’, but saying that made him sound like he was sad but not in a sad way, in a _sad_ way. 

“Yep, but I’d rather do it at like one instead of let’s see, ten thirty in the morning,” Barry responded. 

“It’s better than last time,” the slightly shorter shook his head. “I don’t know what it is with the three but I will never wake up at six in the morning again,”

“The three?”

“Hmm?”

“Who’s the ‘three’?”

“You know, the three!”

“Pretty sure I wouldn’t ask if I knew, Hal,” Barry raised an unimpressed eyebrow, smacking Hal’s shoulder when the other imitated him. 

“Wonder Woman, Superman and you know, Spooky,” 

“They’re the ‘three’?”

“Well, I haven’t found a proper name for them yet and I’m not going to pull a Shazam and do something dorky like the Super Trinity or- wait! That’s perfect!”

Barry made a face. “The Super Trinity?”

“It sounds bad when you say it,” Hal said. “But you’re right, maybe I’ll take off the Super, it sounds a little cring-”

“And why are they so separate from the rest of us?” prompted Barry. 

The brunette rubbed the back of his neck, flashing his widest and most charming smile that usually had girls swooning. He knew Barry couldn’t help but grin back, that was the thing about the Flash. Seeing other people happy always sated his own need for it. Hal sometimes wished he could be content like that too, how much easier life would be if you could just borrow joy from everyone else. “Well, they’re the most powerful and famous and role-model-y?”

“You’re forgetting Arthur,”

“Aquadude? He’s too… I don’t know what it is but he just gives off weird vibes,” Hal shivered to emphasize his point. “You would be there too if you did more worldly saving, you know? And I, the amazing, of course would be there if I did the same but unfortunately I have to do universe-ly saving instead,”

The other snorted, giving another shove to Hal. Except this one sent him careening into the corridor and the dull, background ache of his wounds was yanked into the foreground. A small gasp escaped him. Normally, he’d have cursed or made an even more dramatic gasp to play it off but the pain was almost _excruciating_. It felt like a fire had been lit inside him, burning him from the inside and consuming every part of his body till it turned to ash. Barry immediately dug into apologies, his hands wavering over Hal as if debating to help him or not. 

“I’m good, momentary trouble,” Hal gritted out, leaning with one arm against the wall. The pain had subsided, but it still felt like duller knives were stabbing him from the inside. 

“This isn’t normal, buddy,” Barry’s hands lightly gripped the sides of his shoulders, Hal’s sweatshirt preventing them from rubbing against the cuts on his biceps. “No normal injury hurts like that, let me give a call to the lab for you because I know you’re not even going to consider going to the E.R.”

“What kind of superhero goes to the E.R.?” Hal groaned, letting the other guide him away from the wall so his feet could actually attempt standing on their own. Once he was steady enough, he knocked Barry’s hands away, biting his lips to not let another hiss out as the pain. He didn’t have the best look at his torso the other night, and that’s where most of the pain seemed to come from. That was his luck, wasn’t it? The one time he actually stopped to check and properly care for his injuries and he managed to make it worse. 

“Maybe,” Barry bit his lip and Hal narrowed his eyes at the sight. 

“No.”

“I was just saying maybe you shouldn’t go on the mission tonight,”

“It’s a recon mission! There won’t even be any fighting,”

“Hmm,” he said, unconvinced. “You gotta be careful, you’ll make it worse,”

“It’ll heal,” snapped Hal, he got even more angry at the apologetic blush that immediately covered his face. It’s not like he wanted to be so brash, especially not when Barry was only being a good friend. But it was either that or having to admit he was weak, and he’d rather people think he was a douche than that. At least that way, they’d learn to stay away from him. “Really Bar, I appreciate the concern but I’ve dealt with this many times before. It always works out fine,” He conjured a tightly pressing bandaid from his light ring to prove a point, compressing his torso to relieve some pain. 

“That really doesn’t sound as reassuring as you think it does,” Barry said, but he hung his head and continued to walk. Neither had been paying attention whichever destination they would eventually reach, but it seemed like they were about to head off headquarters. Now Hal could just stand as Barry continued on his way, he tried to make his feet move, but it was like they’d melted to the ground from the heat of his pain. He was stuck, and Barry was there expecting him to be walking after him, or he was hoping Hal would stay behind. Would he? He could, many had before him. Leaving Hal behind that is. Or rather, the uncomfortable truth which seemed to burrow beneath his skin. No one ever left him, he just never followed anyone, no, it was worse, he _made_ them leave. “Hey!” Barry yelled from the entrance door, his eyebrows were low on his forehead and there was no familiar smile or faux anger. “You coming?”

Just like that, the spell was broken. Hal heaved, jogging up to Barry, tucking the makeshift bandages beneath his shirt. “Where are we going?”

“Iris sent me this article about best places to eat here so I can get her some takeaway,”

“A goal upon food!” Hal beamed, clapping Barry on the back. “One of my specialties,”

“You always say that, and then you barely eat anything,”

Just like that, it was back to normal. 

\---

Bruce didn’t leave the headquarters like he knew most of the others would be doing. He could just tell Hal hated being cooped up and tied down, not only to a building but to Earth also apparently, considering his urge to go fly out. Clark would surely be flying back to Metropolis for personal work, Diana always loved exploring and meeting the locals, no matter how many times she’d already done it, and Aquaman seemed to have some governmental problems to sort out. It was hard to imagine any reason for why Arthur wouldn’t know about the smuggling, the criminals weren’t exactly being discreet and Atlantis had a goldmine of possibility. Or perhaps he thought he’d dealt with it. But no solutions ever lasted in the world of scum and crime. Perfect never lasts.

_Then we fight to build it all over again._

Bruce scowled. He’d thought he and Hal were similar. But this optimism didn’t rest inside him, he could never hope for the best. There was a time where he used to, and that time vanished with a single gunshot. 

Unsure of exactly what he was doing, he opened his phone and went to the contacts list. It’s only when his fingers stopped right above _Jason Todd_. Mid 30s and he already had four kids to worry about. This particular one always caused him to worry, this particular one also seemed to hate him. For which Bruce couldn’t blame the other. So long it’d taken just to get a hold of the number, Jason very gruffly handing it to him and saying “call if you die”. He wondered how much of that had been on Alfred and Dick’s insistence, just another cross on the other’s checklist. 

He scrolled down to Alfred’s name instead. 


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter is written really awkwardly because I don't know how to write Wonder Woman but hey look on the bright side, an entire chapter from Diana's perspective!

Diana side eyed Green Lantern, she couldn’t help it. The man’s bright green outfit was not exactly conspicuous. “Perhaps you should change it to a more stealthy hue?”

“I mean it’s kind of my brand. I’m Green Lantern so you know this is-” he gestured to his suit. “Green,” She stared at him. “Also you know, glinting bronze and bright red metal isn’t very discreet either.” He said it as if it was worth mentioning.

“It doesn’t matter because both of you will be handling the port while Batman and Aquaman stow away on the ship,” Clark clapped Lantern on the back, but his gaze was set on Diana. 

“What?” he exclaimed. 

“I am a warrior, I should be in the midst of the possibility of a fight,” Diana’s brows knitted together in confusion. “I do not wish to argue, but I do not understand,” Clark glanced at Bruce and the Flash, who were discussing something about quantum energy optimization that Diana had no interest or benefits in knowing. But it was good for them, to form a connection. You can’t have a team without a bond, it’s not a team and it’s definitely not a league then. It’s just a crossover of different heroes. Clark and Arthur bonded over their split personalities between their human childhood and actual physiology, Cyborg and Bruce over their large networks of criminal information. She herself made it a point. Her and Clark bonded through their powers, she and Bruce through their analytical perspectives, she and Arhur with their judgement, her and Barry with their general love of life and so on. Except one person of course. 

Green Lantern. 

In fact, she’d only seen him reach out to Barry. Bruce and he also seemed to have the bedrock of a relationship, a grudging understanding of being completely human that the others couldn’t seem to grasp. The lack of the others though was potentially alarming, not to mention dangerous. Especially when thinking of the Corps, who themself were a group (albeit a very large one). Inconsistency, unreliability, perhaps the position she had acquired for tonight did make sense in the grand scheme of the universe. 

“We need people with the most varied skills to be able to stay at the port since truly everything has a possibility of happening there, once Bruce and Arthur on the ship, if they get found. Who knows what will happen there?” Clarl explained calmly, it was clear he was addressing Green Lantern but once again, he was facing Diana only. “Both of your powers together form the best failsafe,”

“And you’re also ones with the least sleuthing skills!” Barry piped in from the back.

“Hey!” Green Lantern yelled, before looking at Diana, corners of his lips dredging up. “Are you saying that our dear Wonder Woman actually has a disadvantage?” That did bring a smirk to Diana’s face as she watched Barry falter. The former turned towards her, doing a mock bow. “Sorry, m’lady, some people here just don’t have any manners. In fact, I say we show them our fighting prowess tonight,”

“I doubt I will be needing to show it off, Hal,” Diana raised an eyebrow, she liked saying his actual name and she also liked it when Barry let out an ‘oooh’ though she wasn’t exactly sure for what reason. 

Green Lantern pressed a hand to his heart. “I’m hurt, really,” he pouted. She laughed, setting her hands on her hips. The other imitated her pose, bit more melodramatically, pointing at Barry and saying. “Still think I’m not capable to the max, huh? At least I don’t have to hide a bald spot with my mask,”

“Shut up smartass, we got a job to do,” Barry turned away, but it was clear by his shoulders shaking that he was laughing. The room lapsed into a comfortable silence, well perhaps uncomfortable for the others. Diana was used to the quiet, when she was younger and the bustling noises of the marketplace, training grounds and streets grew far too much, she’d steal away to a little garden just near the cliff face. A meld of green grass, grey rocks and dirt made up the pliable floor on which she’d sit and watch the ocean. It wasn’t that far away from where the others presided but it was always so absolutely silent there. Not even birds or rustling bushes, up there you could barely even hear the crash of the waves on shore. How long ago was it that she’d been there? It was foolish to be hopeful, but perhaps that place was timeless, never changing, never altering. 

The clock hit six and the League dispersed. Superman flew off to newspaper buildings and their corresponding parking spots to get a feel of the connections. The Flash took general coverage, stopping small bits of criminal activity because they were still superheroes, but not crimes big enough to alert the actual gangs. Aquaman delved into the nearest body of water, surefire of finding a way onto the boat. Batman simply dissipated, not telling anyone of his plan but Diana didn’t have to waste time on that, they both knew he’d be there. Green Lantern offered to fly him and her both, “but I have an inkling you’d prefer not?”

Diana nodded, after spending years training to be independent, she’d always prefer to be alone than not. It was an argument of logic, less people having the opportunity to get hurt led to less people actually getting hurt, then that translated into not being able to be shaken out of the mindset no matter the situation. “I will be close,” she promised. He flinched, but said nothing. So they went. 

The port was almost barren. Lantern landed in a spot just behind a large building which stood at the mouth of the pier. Diana gently floated down next to him, thanking the early darkness to provide them camouflage. “I think we’ll have too…” he trailed off, eyes squinting at something in the distance. “Yeah, if we’re doing recon and only busting out the big guns if needed, we should probably be in our normal clothes so we can actually go out and mingle,” Diana frowned. 

“Mingle?” she repeated. 

“We do have to gather information, right?”

“Yes but it may prove tougher in case of an emergency, to be able to provide our skills if we are otherwise occupied,” one of her slender fingers reached up to make sure her earpiece was in place. It was best to avoid incidents such as the last time, where it had fallen off during battle and she’d been cut off from the group, though she hadn’t actually noticed until the Flash suddenly zoomed into her area despite having to be a whole city away for the plan to work. 

“But there’s also the possibility absolutely nothing in which case we’d just be sitting here being useless,”

Diana sucked in a breath. Finally, she relaxed, signifying her affirmation. Green Lantern punched the air triumphantly, his suit dissipating and leaving him in casual clothing. “I will need the proper apparel,” she announced.. He clicked his teeth before poking his head out of the building’s coverage, brown hair falling over his forehead. “What are you doi-”

“Shit!” he whispered, back slamming against the wall of the building. Footsteps pattered nearby, light enough to signal the man couldn’t be quite muscled but fast enough to alert them to his adrenaline. At first, he walked right past them, dirty gold hair glinting by the light of a nearby street lamp and bundled clothing swinging from the air. Both the heroes stood still, Diana because she always did, Hal because he seemed to think that standing still would make him invisible. Just as the other started to relax, the blond haired man turned towards them, all parties froze. Then the man in almost superhuman speed removed a gun from his clothing, shaking hands holding it up, so Diana, using actual superhuman speed knocked him out. 

She didn’t bother catching the man as he slumped to the floor. “This is quite helpful, I shall take his clothes,” 

Hal’s mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry, what?”

“His coat, and his pants. He is wearing thermals and shirts underneath,”

He made an uncomfortable noise.“How do you know that?”

She smiled. 

Once dressed in a too-large coat and slightly too small slacks, she manoeuvred her hair into a bun. “Don’t you need a hair tie for that?” Hal questioned, fingers almost touching the hairstyle before retracting. One of her eyebrows popped up, admiration of her hair had not been in her expected reactions from the Green Lantern. Once again, he leaned away from the wall to watch something on the pier, but this time, she too slightly floated above the ground to also view his point of concern. 

The answer was clear, men in low hats and dark coats prowled around the corner, only one young couple in the midst of it.

“ _Aquaman and I have just arrived on the ship, it was much farther than expected meaning whatever plans they created have been accelerated_ ,” Bruce’s voice crackled in her ear, gruff and low, as usual. Hal muttered an affirmative. Diana couldn’t be bothered, her eyes were narrowed on the couple. One of them had to be guilty, otherwise they wouldn’t be at the pier. The sea was only a few feet away from both of them, it would be far too easy to throw them off. They may be criminals, but even then, she always preferred a life in prison than a death, so they could _feel_ the absence of a life well lived. 

“They’re innocent,” Hal murmured. 

“No, they are not.” she replied. The girl, one half of the couple, clutched something in her fist, so tightly that she had to be protecting it. The boy was so lanky, he most likely had to be the innocent one of the two, but the way he rested a hand on his belt and cast wary looks could argue for the other as well. “They’ve reached the point age does not interfere with immorality,”

“Not that, I’m twenty four, I know age has never stopped someone from dumb decisions before,”

Diana glanced at him. “When did you take on the mantle of Green Lantern,”

“Twenty three, but that’s not the point. Look at their clothes, no one from around here is going to be wearing strawberry patterned scarves or goddamn riding boots,”

“That explains it,”

“What?”

“Why you feel no fear, despite what people may think. Age and recklessness certainly have a directly proportional relationship,”

He scowled, genuinely scowled. The expression was out of place on his otherwise friendly face, but certainly compatible with his sharp features. Though soon, it was replaced with a tightened neutral mouth. “That explains it,” he echoed, but no anger outlined his words. “Why the two of us are here,”

She tilted her head.

“Don’t you see why you’re with me? Barry probably went blabbering to Bruce about how I’m weak or something just because I’ve got a couple bruises and Spooky paired us up so that I won’t jeopardize anything. So your competency can overpower my ‘recklessness’,”

It was not a place for conversations such as that, but she had no wish to stop it. “I have never heard you refer to him as Bruce before,”

“Hmm, ‘cause I’ll never say it to his face,”

“How do we save the girl and boy?” 

He didn’t hide his confusion, like she didn’t hide her apprehension. For all of his guardedness behind snark, he opened his heart easily. Even if it was unintentional. The couple shifted, shuffling closer to each other, the leering stares aimed at them only increased. Hal didn’t even look at them for a second, and though he was silent, Diana understood. “We do not have the time to just stand, Lantern,”

A smile, non-sarcastic smile lit up his face, as bright as his green costume. “Let’s outline the steps here, first, we have to be…” and so he continued. It felt as if the entire day so far had been made up of tentative smiles, strict nods and communicating glances. It was the behaviour of a proper team, not needing any verbal fluff to fulfill its purpose. 


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first half is a bit Bruce centred (dw it comes into play later on) and the second half is just Barry gushing about Hal haha.

“Wonder Woman? Green Lantern? What’s your status? Can you guys hear me?” when no reply followed, Bruce let out an uncharacteristic groan. He was soaking wet, skinned knees and elbows, had to be saved by a man called Aquaman and would do just about anything to be home having a rare movie night with his kids. He didn’t need two team members losing contact on top of that. 

The Flash and Superman echoed the same phrase, which was good. It meant it wasn’t a problem of Bruce’s own earpiece, something had happened to the other two. He was being unfair. Aquaman deserved respect, and it wasn’t very surprising that something went wrong with the two most unpredictable members of the team. Who had decided to put the two of them together again? Superman, it had to be Clark. It was done with good intentions, Diana must’ve said something about team bonding as she always did, and the man tried to fix her complaints as he attempted with everyone’s. Bruce had never seen someone with such motivation to do good before. It fit that the only person who held so much golden faith inside him wasn’t even human.

“ _ They aren’t responding _ ,” Clark said. 

“ _ We would run over and check but both him and me are in a very compromising situation currently _ ,” whispered Barry. Bruce rolled his eyes. 

“Aquaman doesn’t seem to be responding so I assume the task has been delegated to me,” he said. The others apologized, as they would usually. He turned off the audio part of the earpiece, so they wouldn’t hear his groan as he lifted himself off the rocky ground. Aquaman had deposited him somewhere under the pier, so it did make sense for him to go and check on the two. 

Possibilities sprung to his mind. Neither should be hurt, though Hal wasn’t at his best, he certainly wouldn’t be overpowered by a few humanly thieves and gang members. Diana too wouldn’t fall to these kinds of people. The earpieces were waterproof, so that wouldn’t be a problem either. Either they themselves removed it, or someone else did it for them. Wonder Woman’s ear piece also could’ve fallen out, but if that was the case, Hal would’ve responded. Diana would never allow him, but maybe he should put a tracker on Hal, for safety reasons. 

When he’d gauged the information of a big shipment coming in from Oracle, holding a meeting between two illustrious mafia leaders, he’d thought he and Arthur could carefully listen in and record it all. For evidence. Then do as they see fit. He didn’t expect to find super powered relics stored on the ship, effectively blasting him into the ocean when he came in a specific radius. Arthur had muttered something in Atlantean, which must’ve been the artifact’s name. If that was in possession of the gangs, and for some reason, coming to Washington, it meant more would also come. Judging by the lack of excitement he’d observed at the port, importance sure, but no excitement. This was a frequent occurrence. Which only made things more difficult. 

This was unlike Gotham where many of the criminal lowlives were metahumans or deranged in some other way. The people here were pure cruel with completely working mental states. Which was somehow even worse.

He began his trudging path above, finding a set of dingy stairs he could use. It was a good idea to include insulating materials, otherwise he’d most likely have hypothermia and an even larger urge to take a flight back to Gotham and his manor. It was eerily quiet for people having to receive a ship chock full of mystical artifacts that mysteriously hadn’t arrived yet. Aquaman wasn’t known to be reckless but if he saw some Atlantean object in there, no telling what he’d do. This was the problem with working in teams, he grumbled, dusting off his suit a bit to make him feel cleaner, because that helped to focus his mind. At least if he was with Red Robin or Robin, he knew the way they thought, even if they didn’t listen to him, he knew what they’d do. 

Once he reached the top, he took a moment to prepare himself. A fight was unavoidable if a superhero showed up in a place like this, they were lucky that they had already found out what the ship held before. 

But when he rose to the final level, no eyes snapped to him and no hands clenched into fists. Twenty people, at the least, were all splayed out, unconscious. Recently by the looks of it, no police yet swarmed the scene, meaning the two heroes’ must have just finished. He spotted a few lash marks on some, Diana then. She would’ve used her lasso. 

“I’m at the scene where Lantern and Wonder Woman were supposed to be,” he pressed his ear piece, keeping his voice low and garbled just in case. “Neither are in my immediate sight and they’ve left behind bodies,”

Static. 

Barry’s voice broke through. “ _ Dead _ ?”

“No, unconscious from what all I can view right now,”

“ _ Where are they _ ...” he muttered, concern filtering most of his voice. Bruce could share the sentiment. Green Lantern especially, Hal was injured, it really wouldn’t do him good in the long term to put more stress on those wounds. That man almost caused him as much stress as his kids, almost. 

“Are you both still occupied?”

“ _ Unfortunately _ ,” Clark replied, he was whispering, only accentuating whatever their situation may be. “ _ Aquaman _ ?”

“ _ Yes _ .” came the gruff response. 

“ _ What is your situation _ ?”

“ _ I have anchored their ship to a specific spot and am currently retrieving the artifacts. _ ”

Bruce gritted his teeth, their interference meant the shipments would be more obscure, but what the other was doing meant there would be no shipments after this. “Perhaps you shouldn’t take back the artifacts before we are able to stop however they are sourcing this.”

Silence, someone clicked their teeth. 

“ _ I shall stop but I’m taking back a valued Atlantean object. I have no idea how these bastards got it, but- _ ”

“Good,” Bruce cut him off. These were the situations Hal was needed in. Without his snark, it all turned far too formal, and that led to long speeches and explanations and no proper reprimands or negative communication. Since he’d been the only one to not act all ‘lordly’ (his words), he was expected to diffuse such situations. “I will continue trying to track the missing two,”

It didn’t feel right to use the word ‘missing’. They were superheroes, perfectly capable of looking after themselves. 

Something glinted in the corner of Bruce’s eyes. He cussed. It was green. Sprinting over to the mulchy ground, the glint came from a necklace of an unconscious woman. There were no marks on her, no sign that she’d been hit by anything. She looked as if she was sleeping. Her chain was silver, and slung on it, was a Green Lantern ring. 

Immediately, he snatched it off the lady. She didn’t stir. He gently opened her eyes to look at her pupils, then examined her breathing. Chloroform. This was deliberate. 

Fifteen minutes later and analysing each person, there were no more clues. No one even stirred, they were knocked out hard, or in the case of the lady and one other man, chloroform was the answer. The other man didn’t have anything on his person that could relate to the two heroes. Bruce was just about to start patting the man down when sirens clouded the air. The police. 

“I found a Lantern ring, and nothing else,” he murmured into the ear piece, before charging out of the dock. 

\---

“Damn it, Hal,” Barry hissed, crouched on top of a building where he could see cops swarm the pier. As soon as he and Clark were done infiltrating the journalists and rich people’s gala (which did turn out to expose a lot of corruption), he’d immediately ran back. Batman had held up the Green Lantern ring, somehow having a tight grip on it despite his wet gloves. Superman was busy relaying information back at the headquarters to Cyborg, who could carefully put in the new information they’d found out about the gang lords into the collection matrix. 

“Wonder Woman was there too.” Batman said.

“Yes but she hasn’t stripped away her superpowers and disappeared as a civilian,” the Flash shot back. He wasn’t discrediting Hal, the annoying thing was, the man was just as much of a hero without the ring as he was with one. But it didn’t help Barry’s worry for his friend at all. 

The two had situated themselves on the top of a nearby building, where they could exchange information and wait for Aquaman to come back so they could decide on the first step towards finding the missing superheroes. “Of course, the one time I tell him to be careful, he does the exact opposite,” Barry said. Even from far away, he narrowed his eyes as the police started cuffing a few people, the other being treated medically or questioned. But if Batman couldn’t catch any more details, there was no way he could. 

“He’s here.” Bruce announced. Barry turned his head just in time to see Aquaman rise through a wave of water to tumble onto the building roof. 

“Your law enforcement really is not very sharp,” he greeted, blond hair covering his eyes. 

“They have their hands full.” replied Bruce. 

“I found them,”

“What? Where? Why didn’t you lead with that?” Barry zipped closer to Arthur, only taking a step back when the other looked down at both of their toes touching. 

“They are in the ship we infiltrated,” Arthur looked at Bruce. Some sort of silent communication went through, the former tilting his head with lips twitching until Bruce nodded.  _ Oh _ . Barry realized. That was supposed to be an apology. Perhaps that’s why the other two got along so well, they’d only speak cryptically. “Well, I assume Green Lantern is there. I only viewed Wonder Woman at the top. Before I was able to talk with her, she dropped below into the cabin.”

“What are they planning?” Batman muttered, gazing out to the sea. 

“I shall bring them back,” 

Barry reached out a hand. “Wait, no-” but Aquaman had already disappeared under the water. Surprisingly, Bruce groaned. 

“These  _ paragons _ ,” he scoffed, filling the word with venom and resignation.

The other wasn’t quite sure what made him reply, either jitters, shock or something that combined the two and he found himself saying “you know? You’re a paragon too.” Nothing in those words prepared him for the way Bruce angled his body to face the Flash. Just one rigid stance, and the intimidation dial turned up ten notches. “I’m just saying! All superheroes are,”

“The country views me as a vigilante, this is true because I don’t have superpowers.”

“Neither does Hal,”

“He has the Lantern ring,”

“And you have the batsuit,”

“This is a foolish discussion.”

“Everyone thinks you’re cool, okay? Including ‘super’ superheroes,” Barry said, softly. He shrugged at Bruce’s lack of response. 

“I feel as though  _ our _ resident Green Lantern may disagree,” the sentence was unexpected. Not only due to the non-Batman-esque vocabulary but also because of his soft tone, the kind people use when they don’t want you to hear something but wouldn’t mind if you did anyway. How he left his phrase open, instead of a strict end. 

“One thing about Hal is that…” Barry carefully watched the other’s reaction, even though there wasn’t much to see. “He makes it very obvious if he doesn’t respect someone, and I do mean  _ very _ obvious,” Such as not working with them at all unless he’s forced to or sneering and cutting up their jackets, Barry mused. He himself had never been the type to hate someone, but Hal simply felt so much in both love and hate. Batman jerked his head in acknowledgement, reaching up one thick finger to press his ear piece. 

“Aquaman, update on the situation.”

_ “There is certainly… A situation,” _

The Flash frowned. “What do you mean?”

_ “It appears they are part of the gang roundtable now,” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the time I publish these chapters right after finishing them, so there is a big possibility of grammar/spelling mistakes. Please do point them out! :)


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur 'rescues' Hal and Diana.
> 
> \---
> 
> Sorry, this one's a bit choppy and rushed because I wrote it during exam week :( That may account for some increased grammar/spelling mistakes also, apologies.

There were times Arthur took his great eyesight for granted. These were not one of those times.

Through the window of the ship, he could make out Green Lantern with his scruffy brown hair but that was only after spotting Wonder Woman’s sharp eyes. She was dressed in a coat far too large for her, and the Lantern too had on casual clothing. They both were sitting on a circular table, the effort Diana was taking to keep her hands in her lap and look timid was palpable even from the distance. Their lips were moving, but Lantern’s usually loud (and big) mouth spoke in stilted sentences. Arthur leaned in, but there was no way he could hear. He examined the small space by the window, it was an unguarded spot, mainly because no one would drop there when everyone inside could see them. 

Puffing out his chest, he controlled the water to launch him onto the ship. He hit the deck with a thump, immediately rolling down to hide under the window’s view. 

Faintly, he heard a sleazy voice exclaim. “The hell was that? Ey Arno, make one of your guys check it,” Arthur rolled his eyes, changing his position so he was crouching instead of flat against the ground. He’d opted to leave his trident at the headquarters, but it could really help at the time to shoo off the guards. Before focusing more on the discussion inside, he waited for some poor guard to come. 

Once that was taken care of (with minimal noise), he finally pressed his back right below the window. It was possible guards may come for their fallen comrade, or to make rounds, or someone from inside may have noticed the new guard suddenly drop down. Either way, Arthur was ready to fight. Criminals often expected some fancy martial arts from superheroes, and though that may be true at times, Arthur grew up on bar fights and rough streets. Towns near seas were not as serene as people were led to believe. In fact, they frequently had smuggling charges and other illegal business set up on these outskirts. 

Hal’s loud voice suddenly sounded, it seemed that despite his tries, he couldn’t control his volume. “Well, buddy, lemme tell ya about this-” Arthur held in a laugh, the other sounded like a cartoon caricatured villain. He remembered watching those with his father when he was younger, with the waves lapping right outside their home like the water hitting the bottom of the boat. Before he had the responsibility of a nation thrust upon his soldiers, before he had to rethink every move he ever made. 

This wasn’t the time to have a pity party. He could complain to Mera later. Right now, Hal Jordan had just introduced himself as ‘Sylvester McGod’ unironically and Diana’s confusion could be heard through the thick metal walls. “It’s a nickname, don’t worry. This guy named Sylvester really changed my life when I was on the, erm, streets. McGod is just what they call me because I, um, put the fear of God in people.” It might’ve been just slightly more convincing if Hal didn’t give an innocently proud smile right after. Arthur gritted his teeth, waiting for one of the actual gang leaders’ to catch on. Except Lantern spoke again after the lengthy silence. “Yeah, so, that’s my story, I’m from… Coast City, actually. Home of the… Evils. Little C-City gang slang for you there, ha, ha,”

Arthur pressed his fingers to the floor, getting ready to stand up. 

“And your little friend there?” asked another deep voice, a female this time. He couldn’t see Diana’s reaction but it couldn’t have been good because Green Lantern piped up again. 

“Firstly, her guns are bigger than mine and she’s… My… Bodyguard?” 

A hiss. 

“Yes, yes! My bodyguard,”

Then, the unmistakable click of a gun. Arthur didn’t hesitate, shooting up, busting in the window. All the guns in the room swivelled towards him. Guards from the outside came swarming in from all sides. Everyone had abandoned their chairs, standing up with a knife or gun pointing at various spots in his body. 

Diana gave him a forlorn look. Hal gaped. “Wait, no!” For a moment, it was unclear who he was exactly referring too, before his hands shot out to placate the criminals. “He is… My… Special weapon,” he pushed his back straighter, clasping his hands. “Yes, yes, that’s how I managed my way aboard. That’s why you haven’t heard of me. I stay behind the veil. I’m too powerful to be known, until now that is, and it’s all because I’ve got a  _ superhero _ in my pocket,” The guns didn’t remove their aim from Arthur, not that it would have mattered much, but the five people who were sitting at the table took a step closer to Hal, looking at him warily. “I’m not called McGod for nothing, I need two bodyguards,” he attempted a shrug but winced instead, gripping the sides of his chair. “

“And why was he attacking the ship before?” snarled the same deep-voiced lady from before, she was old in the most objective terms possible, grey hair pulled into a low ponytail and a scar running down her cheek. Hal frowned, glancing at Arthur for a second before looking back at the lady. 

“We had to make sure this was not a threat to our empire.” Diana piped up, her head was tilted towards the floor. Arthur suddenly understood why, one look at her face and she’d immediately be recognized. Hal had the advantage of no one knowing his identity, not to mention his lack of work on Earth itself. “We apologize for the added security measures, but we truly are ‘underground’,” 

“What the shit,” Arthur murmured. But everyone was still enraptured by the other two. 

“Look okay, I’ll admit, I’m a bit new to this full thing. It’s a family business, and just before, we were all getting along before, yeah? Do you really think I’d be stupid enough to come on a goddamn ship with no backup or knowledge?” Hal said, taking his time to make eye contact with each of the leaders. They didn’t relax even slightly. “The only reason this guy’s here is because there is a breach in my security which is quite obvious now. Really thought we could have a good business venture,”

“Business venture?” another man prodded. 

“Well yes, I had to check out the competition first but now I think we can both benefit each other,”

“Hmm,” said the older lady, corners of her lips twitching up. “Or we could throw you and your companions right off the ship,”

Hal smiled. “Uh, his name is literally Aquaman and we’re surrounded by water. Who do you think will win this fight?” Diana pinched his arm. “I mean! If we go down, we take you with us,” The threat hung in the air, a little too dramatic to be realistic, but enough as the gang leaders waved their hands, and a majority of the guns dropped their target on Arthur, returning to their posts. 

“What sort of venture?” asked the same man from before, he was portly, but muscle clearly outlined his biceps even through his suit. 

“The one I proposed?” Hal said, then he let out a nervous laugh. “We can get… Themysciran objects to you,”

“Themysciran?” Diana and the man whispered together. 

“Yes. I have my sources,”

If there was one thing Arthur had learned, it was that Green Lantern was terrible at espionage. They were barely getting information here either, most of the people on the ship were already suspected to be here. Not to mention, Hal was completely exposing his identity and Arthur didn’t have to rule a kingdom to know the effects of that. He glared at the shorter man while the other leaders exchanged silent looks. Diana met his eyes, a small smile formed on her face and she nodded immediately. She nudged Lantern again.

Hal licked his lips, slowly standing up. Everyone snapped to him. “Well, you can think about it until tomorrow night. Unfortunately, I have other things to manage as well and must take my leave,”

“No.” said the lady. 

“You can’t stop me, sorry, for contact, I say we meet at our usual place,”

“What usual place?” someone else muttered.

“The usual place,” Hal repeated. 

“Braze’s Tavern,” the portly man said, waving a hand and then pointing an abnormally thin finger at Green Lantern. “You must stay and discuss, this is important business.”

“If it’s that important, you should think over it more,” Hal said, hand shooting out to grab Diana before wisely retracting after seeing her stiffen. “Now, my associates and I will be leaving,”

“Associates?” a tinny voice asked. 

“I treat them with respect,” Hal said, moving out of his chair, a little too slowly for Arthur’s liking. He paused. “Also - Aquaman get ready - Liliana and Greg Masters are under my shelter,” There was an edge to his voice, a twist to his smile. “So  _ don’t touch them _ ,”

And a gun went off. 

A switch flipped inside Arthur, and he was already punching the nearest guard, sending the man careening into the metal wall. Everyone at the roundtable flashed up, shouting in such a mixture that no one could understand. Diana was already cutting down the guards who blocked the door while Hal warded off the ones in front. Arthur rushed to the two, shifting the water beneath them to make the ship rock. 

Hal grabbed onto his bicep to keep his balance, then shoved him through the door. “Get ‘em, big boy!”

Guns fired at Arthur faster than he could react. He dropped to the ground, grunting as bullets pelted his body. It was a good thing he was still wearing Atlantean armor. Swiping a guard off his feet, he pummelled the one right next to him. Diana was on the other side, slowly working forming a path right to the edge of the ship. Green Lantern came tumbling after Arthur, limping over to Diana. Aquaman punched another guard on the way to following the two, knocked over another and slapped the spine of another. 

“How are we getting off?” Hal looked at him, he had a split lip and mean bruise forming on one cheek. 

Diana glanced at Arthur, he rolled his eyes but nodded. She grasped Hal, “Wha-” and threw him off the boat. 

“You know he didn’t understand you like I, right?” Arthur said. 

“See you there,” she smiled, shrugging off the coat to reveal her suit and jumping in too. He dived in after them, snatching the two by their arms and creating a propelling water pressure beneath their feet to shoot off towards the coast. Behind them, the ship’s noise only grew but there was no way it’d catch up. 

He manoeuvred the water to lead them to the same place he’d dropped off Batman. 

“Police,” Diana noted. 

Straining his neck, there was a similar spot only a little away. The change in direction must’ve been sudden, because Hal murmured a death threat to the sea. 

They slowed down once reaching the rocky surface and Arthur gently let go of the two on the ground. Lantern immediately lurched, hands swinging out for balance. “Thanks,” he said, and for a second, Arthur was ready to snap at him before he realized it was genuine gratitude. Diana clasped a hand on the other’s shoulder, frowning at him. “What?” he gasped, coughing and gingerly wiping the stray water off his face.

Arthur waited for him to catch his breath before growling.“What the hell is ‘big boy’?” 

Lantern grinned, all white teeth. “Gang talk, sorry you’re not as tough as me, bud,” The taller would’ve shoved him, but he staggered back on his own will. “Damn it, I hate water rides,” 

“That’s it?” Diana raised an eyebrow. “We should find the other three, Lantern and I have a lot of information to report on,” She started on the nearest pair of stairs, the men trailing after her.

“Yeah sure, just seemed like some melodramatic show to me,” Arthur scoffed, keeping to the back. Hal looked like he was about to keel over and Diana though he knew was tough, was also stubborn enough to not display her injuries unless it was deemed ‘worthy’. “Sorry Lantern, but I don’t think you had them convinced till you mentioned the Braze’s Tavern, what is that?”

Hal shrugged. “No idea, I just assumed they had some sort of secret place, like an Anti-Batcave. Hey, turns out they did! Now we just have to figure out where it is so I can meet them tomorrow,”

“Like Bruce will let that happen,”

“He will,” stated Diana. 

“How did you survive those bullets? I didn’t even get shot and still look like some thirteen year old kid played me for the school band,” Hal groaned. 

“Armor, unlike you, I’m actually suited for combat,” Arthur replied. The other threw him a dirty look but didn’t reply. “Batman and Flash are on top of some roof, near the pier. Hold on, let me tell them I got you, where are your ear pieces?”

“We proved our trust to them by taking it off,”

“Stupid,”

“Yeah, and what did you do?” the shorter crossed his arms. Sooner than later though he was back to holding them out to balance himself as he walked. 

Arthur glowered to hide his sheepishness. The sight of those Atlantean objects in the ship had just been so angering, how someone could take over another’s heritage and break it down and rid of all that history, love and passion just for a couple bucks. He shook his head, trudging on. “Who are Liliana and Greg Masters?”


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of whatever Hal and Diana pulled.  
> \---  
> I'm still struggling with writing Diana so please ignore the choppy writing towards the end, sorry!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proper disclaimer: I don't have a beta and I often publish chapters right after writing them so if there are any major spelling/grammar mistakes, please do inform me :)

“You felt bad for two people so you posed as crime lords to try and protect them, and you gave one of them your Green Lantern ring so that none of the gang leaders would confiscate it? Then, you agreed to meet these powerful people who have seen your actual face for a second time so they could what? Get a better look?” Barry recounted, fingers rubbing his forehead. 

“That’s a simplified version, but yes,” Hal affirmed. His legs swung from his bed where he was situated, a brown sweater and loose pants pulled on, not different from Barry’s own clothes. It was ten in the night, both too tired to put on ‘outside clothing’. He leaned away, head flopping back as he stared at the ceiling. The light caught the gleam of a shiner on his face, which only brought attention to his swollen lower lip making him look like he was permanently pouting. 

Barry moved forward, gently touching the edge of the bed. “You never take off that ring, _never_. What’s wrong?” He tapped his foot for a few beats, before sighing and smiling, walking towards the door. “We have to go for the meeting now, come on,”

Just as his hand was twisting open the door, Hal spoke, softly, but that same sharp, almost high pitched tone outlining it. “It feels weird now,” Barry didn’t turn around, hands frozen just an edge away from the click of the door lock. “I don’t know how to describe it. When I first got it, a year ago, everything slotted in perfectly. I’d finally found a space in which I didn’t have to crouch or fold to fit. Now, it’s like it’s too big for me. Too much. I’ll never give it up of course, but there’s so much space when I wear it that I’m lost,”

The speedster bit his lip, slowly letting go of the door handle. Hal was still on the bed, eyes closed, hands fidgeting on top of his chest. “Look, no matter what. You’ve gotta remember, the ring does let you go if it doesn’t think you’re worthy. So no matter what’s in your head, ground yourself in actuality,”

“Are you ‘it’s not me, it’s you’-ing me?” and there was the classic snicker as the battered man peeled himself off the bed. He clapped Barry on the back before opening the door, turning to face him. “You’re a good friend, Barry,” The green ring glinted on his tanned fingers, looking larger than ever before. 

The Superheroes left behind Hal’s temporary room. Barry shoved his hands in the warm pockets of his khakis as they rounded the corner to the same meeting room they’d been at in the morning. His bones ached from all the running and he desperately wanted to curl up with an E-reader in his bed, maybe video call Iris, but he was sure the others felt that way too, and none of them were complaining. Being a metahuman was this odd equilibrium between having power and not having it at all, it’s not like he could choose when crimes happened or when he felt hungry. His stomach growled. Well, hopefully the snack cupboard was fully fitted in the meeting room. 

Twenty minutes later and Batman had given a very passive aggressive reprimand to half of the team. Arthur huffing but not disagreeing, Diana had only a small smile and Hal was slouched backwards on his chair with his eyes half closed. “No but look, all of you got exposed at one point,” Hal interrupted. “My plan works best because no one’s seen my face,”

“They are dangerous, Jordan,” Bruce snapped. “They will find out your identity, and you’ll be putting loved ones in danger,”

“Another reason for my genius plan, unlike you guys, my family doesn’t really live on Earth,” pointed out Hal. Barry pushed him, knocking against his shoulder. 

“Shut up,” he gently said. 

“They won’t do anything if we can manage to shut down this thing,” 

“I agree with Lantern,” shrugged Diana. “This is a good set-up, safety should not be a big concern if we move fast and smart. I am a warrior and I believe you all are too, _our_ security is not a thing to concern ourselves with,”

Bruce’s jaw unmistakably flexed, he turned to Clark, staring at him until the other spoke. The Kryptonian flashed a placating smile. “It is dangerous yes, but they are right, no other plan we come up with now can beat this,” There was a weirdly loud exhale which left Bruce before he pulled up an electronic hologram of a map. He zoomed in one small building in particular, labeled Braze’s Sandwiches. Another odd hand movement and the three floors of the building were highlighted in different colours, along with another one right below the ground.

“According to Red Hood, the ‘Tavern’ is underground,” he pointed to the red highlighted area below the building. “It has extensive security, so you should take Aquaman with you to prove that you indeed are the same man and to show your power,”

“Wouldn’t Aquaman very obviously entering a den of criminals be a little suspicious to both parties? Bad publicity,”

“Why do you want to go in alone so badly?” Barry hissed to Hal, who leaned away from the other, shrugging. 

“It’s a valid concern,”

“He’s right,” boomed Arthur. “I represent Atlantis for the humans and this will not be a good look especially if it spreads to large governments with whom the Atlanteans are in the middle of diplomatic relations,”

“Wear a coat or something, so people passing by won’t be able to recognize you but once the guards take a look at your face and a peek of your suit, there’ll be no mistake,” Barry suggested, albeit a little hesitantly. He automatically glanced at Bruce for his reaction, who nodded, and Hal nudged him knowingly. With a lower volume, he whispered. “What?”

“He’s technically not the leader, you know? He just takes the lead a lot,” 

“That’s exactly what a leader is, Hal,”

“There’s a difference,” 

“No there’s no-”

“Ahem,” Bruce didn’t cough, he simply sounded out the word. Barry and Hal froze, the latter relaxing just a second after with a lazy smile while the former murmured an apology. “Everyone’s onboard with the plan now that the kinks have been worked out?”

“I’m still confused about these Masters fellas,” Arthur spoke up, ignoring the exaggerated whine Hal let out. He seemed to be the only one out of all (excluding Diana) who exhibited absolutely no sign of exhaustion. Even Bruce moved more sluggish than usual, despite his night owl status, there was something inherently sad about his hunched shoulders and shuffling feet. “You just decided to give an unfortunate couple your Green Lantern ring? An immense source of power,”

Diana rolled her eyes playfully before answering. “The two were trying to pay off the debt Liliana’s father owed to a ‘Royal Flush Gang’. During this, they unfortunately had to do increasingly suspicious missions by the gang and decided to team up with the police to bring the gang down from the inside. Alas, several members found it out but no one had made their big move yet, leading them to feel unsafe every moment of the day, unsure of the strike. During the time we were there, it seemed the couple was finally going to be bludgeoned to death somehow. Lantern gave the woman his ring as a distraction, so the mob followed her while he and I knocked everyone unconscious. Then we knocked the couple out as well to create some confusion and maybe make the others think their compliance with the police were just rumors-”

“No, no,” Arthur shook his head. “I got that part-”

“You just said that was exactly the part you didn’t get,” Hal said. He jabbed his thumb towards the Flash. “According to Barry’s words,”

The Atlantean glared, which was most of his interactions with Hal. “I mean how did you both end up from there, to the ship. I was there the entire time and I didn’t see either one of you enter,” Clark voiced his confusion as well. Barry had to stop a smug smile from showing, usually being in the League felt out of his depth. Maybe he was matched in physical power with them, but the way the others thought felt so ‘big picture’ and it was hard to not feel inferior with such purely well meaning people. Just the fact that he was happy that he could understand things they couldn’t showed the sign of him not being on par with their hearts, no matter whatever Hal spouted, he was just being a good friend. 

“Well obviously, someone spotted us and asked who I was because they’d never seen me around. I just made up the identity then, convinced Wonder Woman who intimidated the ship guards so much that we managed to sneak on through the crates.” Hal explained. His right leg rapidly bounced up and down, even though the rest of him was limp and tired. Barry examined the other’s dark circles, a feature he was sure he too possessed. 

“Well, that’s that. I say we get some sleep now and check back in the morning when we can focus better,” he voiced. 

“It appears this is going to take longer than expected to fix,” Bruce hummed. 

\---

Diana grabbed Jordan right after the meeting, dragging him away from Barry who weakly tried to convince her to go rest but soon gave up. “Ow,” Hal mumbled, stumbling as she dragged him, his arm twitching in her hand to reflex back to himself. She lessened her hold, but didn’t let go. 

“Apparently this is uncharacteristic of you,” she stated. 

He laughed without smiling. “If you think this is uncharacteristic, you don’t really know me that well,”

“You are correct,”

There was no reply to that. The laugh pittering out into a twist of the lips and furrowed brows. Both of them stood frozen, waiting for the other to talk. Finally, Hal cautiously took one step away, hand brushing the nape of his neck. “Well if you don’t mind, I’d like to sleep now?”

“No,” she commanded.

He froze, nodding his head frantically. “Yep, no, got it,”

Diana bit her lip, before sighing. “What I am trying to say is that the League is supposed to work as a team, and in my experience, teams don’t work well when people don’t try to work in one,” The other immediately went rigid, his hands started flying before his mouth did. 

“I’m one of the ones who tries! I’m so open, I speak so much-”

“You are the least open,” she held up a hand, speaking as slowly as possible. He opened his mouth again, but she only shoved her hand closer to him. “Even Bruce has been contributing more into maintaining the team atmosphere by talking about his kids and personal life,”

“I can’t really talk about my personal life if I don’t have one, right?” he cracked a smile, making limp finger guns before his arms dropped again. 

“The only things I know about you are from Barry and Bruce,”

“Well Bruce knows all of us, he’s like some stalker-”

She growled and he jumped, before doubling down with the smallest of groans she’d ever heard. Another noise of frustration escaped her, “go to the MedBay before you fall asleep,” and then she left. Her metal shoes clearly enunciated her emotions and not one look behind for Hal. If he wasn’t ready, then there was nothing she could do. If he himself didn’t want to become one with the team, there was nothing anyone else could do. It’s not like she had forgotten his remark of not having family on Earth, and if he stayed this course, the joke would become actuality without any part from others, only his.

She passed Bruce on her way, jerking her head in acknowledgement before entering her quarters. Her entire life she’d spent earning her role in a group, earning her place to fight. Hal Jordan had _something_ that led him to become a superhero because all of them did, it was his own choice to bury it.

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: They're probably OOC? There are so many variations to their characters man I can't keep track of this.


End file.
